Living in a desert
state, some Salt Lake Valley residents are making it a mission to conserve
water.

Utah received
limited snowpack in the mountains, and local water officials say they’ve had to
dip into reservoir water early this year. But Shaun Moser, an instructor at the
Conservation Water Garden in West Jordan, said even heavy snowpack years aren’t
an excuse to waste water.

“Conservation
should be an ethic here in Utah. More often than not, we’re in some kind of
drought here,” Moser explained.

That’s why
state officials have been pushing to implement a statewide water conservation
campaign called Slow the Flo. It’s designed to educate residents and also to
encourage changes in residents’ landscapes, including using less grass in their
yards.

Dani Workman, a
West Jordan homeowner and mom, said she’s trying to make small changes to her
landscape to reduce water use.

“We water our
lawn twice a week and watch the weather to decide what days will be best to do
it,” Workman explained. “For our garden, we collect rainwater in barrels from our
downspouts and use that to hand water our garden. Not only is it free, but it
saves a little bit of water and money.”

Moser said the
average lawn only needs 20 minutes of water every other day during the hottest
months. In the spring and fall, grass only needs 20 minutes of water
approximately 1-2 times a week.

But Moser said it’s
even more important to cut back on the grass in your yard. The average sprinkler
system isn't designed to water any lawn area smaller than 8 feet wide, such as
park strips or sides of a home. The Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District
offers monthly classes to give residents examples on how to cut back on sod
grass at Localscapes.com.

“The style of
landscaping that has been adopted here in Utah really doesn’t fit our climate.
The English style of landscaping developed in an area that gets rain a lot of
time,” Moser explained about landscapes filled with grass. “Here in Utah we
need irrigation systems to keep things alive.”

Cynthia Bee,
outreach coordinator for the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District, says
Local Scapes offers a small reward to residents who take their classes teaching
water conservation and implement changes to their own landscape.

“We’re not
calling it an incentive, because it’s not enough to cover costs for changing
your landscape,” Bee explained.

The small bonus
is up to $.25 per square footage in a landscape, but the real benefit is
reducing water.

To learn more
about Local Scapes, the next beginner class will be at 9 a.m. on Sept. 1 at the
Conservation Garden Park at 8275 S. 1300 West in West Jordan. You can sign up
for Local Scapes 101 on LocalScapes.com